November 21, 2005 13:03

Bob Dylan begins London residency

The star wows fans on first night of five in the capital

Photo Gallery: Bob Dylan
Photo: Pa Photos

Bob Dylan began a five night residency in London yesterday (November 20).

The troubadour is playing all this week at the Brixton Academy and was on form as he played a set that featured songs from throughout his career.

Clearly buoyed by the recent success of documentary 'No Direction Home', a crowd of mixed ages witnessed Dylan in particularly animated form, and though his only words to the crowd all night were “thanks friends” at the end, he spent much of the gig coming out from behind his keyboards and playing harmonica solos at the front of the stage.

Dylan played the following set:

'Rumble'
'Drifter's Escape'
'Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)'
'God Knows'
'To Ramona'
'It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)'
'Queen Jane Approximately'
'Til I Fell In Love With You'
'Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again'
'New Morning'
'Highway 61 Revisited'
'Man In The Long Black Coat'
'Honest With Me'
'Desolation Row'
'Summer Days'
'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right'
'All Along The Watchtower'

It was a set that certainly won approval with fans, with one telling NME.COM “Tonight is the best I’ve seen Bobby play in almost 20 years" while another, admitting it was his first Dylan gig, explained: “It was just stunning. I didn’t know what to expect and was surprised he didn’t play guitar, but even so he was just a great performance.”

Dylan continues at Brixton until November 24 before concluding his European tour with two dates at the Dublin Point (November 26-27).